OXFAM FACT SHEET
Oil, gas,
and mining
industries:
Women’s
rights at risk
It’s a 21st-century paradox: Countries
endowed with oil, gas, and mineral resources
frequently suffer in poverty—and women
are disproportionately affected.
Women bear the heaviest burden of
poverty, and they are often hardest hit
by social and environmental problems
related to large-scale projects like oil
or gas pipelines, or a gold mine. Even
well-intentioned development projects
will affect men and women differently, so
companies, governments, and communities need to ensure that they minimize
problems that can increase gender
inequality. How does this play out in
communities affected by oil, gas, and
mining projects?
ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Many industrial projects will affect the
environment, particularly water quality
and availability. Such water issues usually
have a direct impact on women and girls,
who are responsible for collecting water.
Contaminated water and other forms of
pollution can create serious health problems and can especially affect women’s
maternal health. People of all ages
exposed to air- and waterborne pollution
who become ill put an extra burden on
women, who typically care for sick family
members. Women and girls can also be
vulnerable to domestic violence, sexually
transmitted diseases, and trafficking for
prostitution in areas experiencing economic booms and increased migration.
FOOD
Women are generally in charge of household tasks like food production and
preparation; environmental problems,
reduced access to water, or loss of
agricultural land can have a direct and
negative effect on a family’s access to
food. When a community suddenly
becomes a center for mining or oil
production, the cost of living usually
goes up and food becomes more expensive, putting more stress on women in
charge of feeding a family.
Oxfam America is a global organization working to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger, and injustice. As one
of the 17 members of the international Oxfam confederation, we work with people in more than 90 countries
to create lasting solutions. Oxfam saves lives, develops long-term solutions to poverty, and campaigns for
social change. To join our efforts or learn more, go to oxfamamerica.org.
JOBS
Mines and oil and gas projects require
a lot of capital; they are not very laborintensive. And most positions are highly
skilled jobs dominated by and reserved for
men, such as heavy equipment operator
and engineer jobs. Discrimination closes
doors for women’s employment in many of
these jobs, resulting in women becoming
more dependent on men for money for
food and health care as costs go up.
POWER
Most of the discussions with companies
and governments about hydrocarbon or
mining projects do not involve women in
affected communities. They are excluded
from negotiations about terms of resettlement, what benefits will go to the
community, and how the local government will spend revenues, for example.
Excluding women from community
“
Men suffer from mining, but
women suffer more because of
loss of livelihoods and water
bodies. So we started developing
the leadership capacities of
women, because if you don’t
have control over resources,
you don’t have power.
“
—Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, Associate Executive
Director, Wacam, Ghana
decision-making bodies makes them
less influential. Failing to include their
perspective on protecting water sources,
on maternal and child health, on education, and on how to reinvest royalties into
their communities is a lost opportunity
to improve society.
informed consent from communities,
including women, before starting any
major oil, gas, or mining projects. We urge
all parties to ensure that women are at
the table during important discussions
and that they can equitably benefit from
projects and job opportunities.
EQUAL PARTNERS
PROGRAM EXAMPLES
Women play an essential role in any
effort to promote development and eliminate poverty. They need to work with men
as equal partners to make decisions in
communities and to minimize the costs
and share the benefits of oil, gas, and
mining projects. Here’s what Oxfam and
our partners are doing to promote gender
equity in communities affected by oil,
gas, and mining projects.
Cambodia: Oxfam is helping government
officials revise their environmental
impact assessment procedures for proposed oil and mining projects to include
stronger gender analysis standards.
Pushing communities, governments,
and companies to include women in
negotiations and decision-making.
Oxfam funds organizations providing
training for women and men in human
rights, law, and negotiation so both
women and men can be involved in
major community decisions together.
Advocating for company and government
policies that respect women’s rights and
promote gender equity. Oxfam advocates
for all governments and companies
to respect the right to free, prior, and
226 CAUSEWAY STREET,5TH FLOOR
BOSTON, MA 02114-2206
(800) 77-OXFAM
www.oxfamamerica.org
Ghana: Oxfam is supporting two organizations that are training village women
to become paralegals, who then teach
others their rights under mining laws and
Ghana’s constitution, negotiation skills,
how to analyze an environmental impact
assessment, and water quality monitoring.
Guatemala: Oxfam’s partners are training
indigenous Maya women in communities
affected by mining projects to become
community leaders. With most of the
world’s gold coming from areas inhabited by indigenous people around the
world, training indigenous women helps
ensure that their specific concerns are
accounted for in negotiations with
companies and government.
Peru: Oxfam is helping organizations in a
copper mining area to teach local people
how to apply gender awareness to their
work in analyzing how the government
tracks and spends mining revenue.
United States: In an effort to promote
transparency in oil, gas, and mining
revenues, Oxfam and others in the US
pushed for a section of the 2010 DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act to require companies
to disclose payments to governments,
allowing members of civil society—including women’s organizations—to monitor
how money is used for development.
What Can
YOu do
to Help?
Learn more about how communities
are affected by large-scale mining,
oil, and gas projects, and sign up to
support our campaign at
oxfamamerica.org/rights-resources/.
ABOVE: Hannah Owusu-Koranteng trains women leaders in communities affected by mining in Ghana. Jeff
Deutsch / Oxfam America FRONT: A Senegalese woman uses a sluice to find small specks of gold. There’s a major
gold mine in this area, but few women work there. Rebecca Blackwell / Oxfam America
© 2015 Oxfam America Inc. Oxfam America is a registered trademark of Oxfam America Inc., and the Oxfam logo is a registered trademark of Stichting Oxfam International. Printed on 100 percent
postconsumer recycled paper. 1501013